Paleoecology of Pennsylvanian phylloid algal buildups in south Guizhou, China

Pennsylvanian phylloid algal reefs are widespread and well exposed in south Guizhou, China. Here we report on reefs ranging from 2 to 8m thickness and 30-50m lateral extension. Algae, the main components, display a wide spectrum of growth forms, but are commonly cyathiform (cup-shaped) and leaf-like (undulate plates). The algal reef facies is dominated by boundstone. Algal thalli form a dense carpet whose framework pores are filled with marine cement and peloidal micrite. The peloidal matrix is dense, partly laminated or clotted with irregular surfaces and often gravity defying. Algal reefs in Guizhou differ from examples reported to date by the high biodiversity of organisms other than phylloids: e.g., the intergrowth of algae with corals (some of which are twice the size of algal thalli) and numerous large brachiopods. This contrasts to previous views that phylloid algal "meadows” dominated the actual seafloor, excluding other biota. Also, the pervasive marine cements (up to 50%) including botryoidal cement are noteworthy. Algal reefs developed at platform margins, a depositional environment similar to that of modern Halimeda mounds in Java, Australia and off Bahamas, and to that of time-equivalent examples reported from the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Whereas nutrients appear decisive in the growth of Halimeda reefs, algal reefs reported herein seemingly grew under conditions of low nutrient levels. Overall, algal reefs in Guizhou challenge previous views on growth forms, diversity patterns, and depositional environments and add to the spectrum of these partly puzzling biogenic structure

Paleoecology of Pennsylvanian phylloid algal buildups in south Guizhou, China

Pennsylvanian phylloid algal reefs are widespread and well exposed in south Guizhou, China. Here we report on reefs ranging from 2 to 8 m thickness and 30–50 m lateral extension. Algae, the main components, display a wide spectrum of growth forms, but are commonly cyathiform (cup-shaped) and leaf-like (undulate plates). The algal reef facies is dominated by boundstone. Algal thalli form a dense carpet whose framework pores are filled with marine cement and peloidal micrite. The peloidal matrix is dense, partly laminated or clotted with irregular surfaces and often gravity defying. Algal reefs in Guizhou differ from examples reported to date by the high biodiversity of organisms other than phylloids: e.g., the intergrowth of algae with corals (some of which are twice the size of algal thalli) and numerous large brachiopods. This contrasts to previous views that phylloid algal “meadows” dominated the actual seafloor, excluding other biota. Also, the pervasive marine cements (up to 50%) including botryoidal cement are noteworthy. Algal reefs developed at platform margins, a depositional environment similar to that of modern Halimeda mounds in Java, Australia and off Bahamas, and to that of time- equivalent examples reported from the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Whereas nutrients appear decisive in the growth of Halimeda reefs, algal reefs reported herein seemingly grew under conditions of low nutrient levels. Overall, algal reefs in Guizhou challenge previous views on growth forms, diversity patterns, and depositional environments and add to the spectrum of these partly puzzling biogenic structures

Microclimate characteristics and multi-effect analysis of facade and rooftop agriculture based on in-situ observation and meta-analysis

Facade and rooftop agriculture has great potential in regulating urban local microclimate, building energy conservation and carbon emission reduction. This study aims to address the limitation that the existing studies lack multi-effect simulations of integrated implementation of facade and rooftop agriculture. It takes into account the variability and complexity of thermal coefficients in planting layers during the simulations. By analyzing in-situ observations, the study examines the regulatory impact of integrated agriculture on urban microclimate. Furthermore, it uses observed data instead of DeST temperature database data to simulate the energy-saving effect and carbon emission reduction. In order to analyse the average economic efficiency of rooftop and facade agriculture in China, the study conducts a meta-analysis of existing cases in China. The results of the study are as follows: (1) The thermal insulation efficiency of the facade and rooftop integrated agriculture varies with weather conditions and diurnal variations. It reaches the strongest (1.68°C) on sunny days and around noon, (2) The integrated implementation of facade and rooftop agriculture on a normal home building in Changsha can save a total of 12,226.30 kW·h (5%) of electricity per year, and thus reducing 2,809.26 kg of carbon emissions, and (3) Based on meta-analysis and LCA calculation, the average net present value of the project in China for 40a is RMB -937712.18. The economic efficiency needs to be optimized. The results of this study reveal the ideal ecological benefits of facade and rooftop agriculture and the economic efficiency that hinders their implementation, providing a theoretical basis for building energy conservation and renovation, and the economic efficiency optimization in the regions with hot summer and cold winter

Research on the development and testing methods of physical education and agility training equipment in universities

IntroductionBecause of the problems of insufficient funds and traditional training methods in college sports agile training, an agile training system based on a wireless ad hoc network was developed to evaluate the effect of improving the sensitive quality of ordinary college students. Based on the ESP-MESH network, the lower computer realizes automatic networking between devices and tests the performance of the mesh network. Fourteen male college students received 9 weeks of agility training, with seven students in each of two groups: traditional agility training and agile equipment training. The researchers evaluated the performance of both groups in rapid disguise, body coordination, changing movements, and predictive decision-making.ResultsThere was no significant difference between the groups before training, but there were significant differences in the four abilities after training (p < 0.01). The experimental group had significant differences in rapid direction change and physical coordination (p < 0.05), and in changing movement and predictive decision-making ability (p < 0.01).ConclusionBoth traditional training and agile equipment training improve the agility quality of college students, and the latter shows better results in certain abilities. However, limited by other physical qualities, the improvement of motor changes and predictive decision-making ability is not as obvious as the other two abilities

Analysis of the association between testosterone and cardiovascular disease potential risk factor apolipoprotein B in adult males without cancer: national health and nutrition examination survey 2011-2016

BackgroundOver the years, there has been extensive exploration of the association between testosterone and lipid profiles, yet the precise mechanisms underlying their interaction remain incompletely elucidated. Similarly, there is a dearth of research on the correlation between serum apolipoprotein B (apoB) and serum total testosterone (TT), particularly within specific populations.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study to assess the relationship between serum TT concentration and serum apoB concentration. Using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2011 to 2016, we employed weighted generalized linear models, weighted univariate, weighted multivariate analysis, and smooth curve fitting to assist in exploring the relationship between serum TT and apoB. Serum apoB concentration served as the independent variable, and serum TT concentration as the dependent variable. ApoB was divided into four quartiles—Q1 (<0.7g/L, N=691), Q2 (≥0.7g/L to <0.9g/L, N=710), Q3 (≥0.9g/L to <1.1g/L, N=696), and Q4 (≥1.1g/L, N=708)—thereby further solidifying the stable association between the two. Additionally, the application of smooth curve fitting will contribute to a more detailed elucidation of the specific relationship between serum TT concentration and serum apoB concentration under different factors (Drinking, Smoke, Diabetes, Hypertension, and High cholesterol level.).ResultsThe results indicate a negative correlation between serum TT concentration and apoB concentration (β=-113.4; 95% CI: -146.6, -80.2; P<0.001). After adjusting for confounding variables, the negative correlation between apoB concentration and TT concentration remains significant (β=-61.0; 95% CI: -116.7, -5.2; P=0.040). When apoB concentration was converted from a continuous variable to a categorical variable (quartiles: Q1<0.7g/L; Q2:≥0.7g/L to<0.9g/L; Q3:≥0.9g/L to <1.1g/L; Q4: ≥1.1g/L), TT level of participants in the highest quartile (≥1.1g/L) was -47.2 pg/mL (95% CI: -91.2, -3.3; P=0.045) lower than that in the lowest quartile (<0.7g/L). The smooth curve fitting diagram revealed differences in the relationship between TT concentration and apoB among individuals with different cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors.ConclusionsThis study elucidates a robust inverse correlation between serum TT concentration and apoB concentration, maintaining statistical significance even upon adjustment for confounding factors. These findings present a promising avenue for addressing the prevention and treatment of low testosterone and CVD

miR-216b Post-Transcriptionally Downregulates Oncogene KRAS and Inhibits Cell Proliferation and Invasion in Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma

Background/Aims: Increasing evidence has shown that miR-216b plays an important role in human cancer progression. However, little is known about the function of miR-216b in renal cell carcinoma. Methods: The expression levels of miR-216b in renal cell carcinoma tissues and cell lines were examined by qRT-PCR. The biological role of miR-216b in renal cell carcinoma proliferation and/or metastasis was examined in vitro and in vivo. The target of miR-216b was identified by a dual-luciferase reporter assay. The expression level of KRAS protein was measured by western blotting. Results: The expression of miR-216b was downregulated in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) cell lines and specimens compared to the adjacent normal tissues. Furthermore, miR-216b can bind to the 3’untranslated region (UTR) of KRAS and inhibit the expression of KRAS through translational repression. The in vitro study revealed that miR-216b attenuated ccRCC cell proliferation and invasion. Furthermore, in vivo study also showed that miR-216b suppressed tumor growth. MiR-216b exerted its tumor suppressor function through inhibiting the KRAS-related MAPK/ERK and PI3K/AKT pathways. Conclusion: Our findings provide, for the first time, significant clues regarding the role of miR-216b as a tumor suppressor by targeting KRAS in ccRCC

Reconstruction and Rendering of Buildings as Radiance Fields for View Synthesis

In inspection and display scenarios, reconstructing and rendering the entire surface of a building is a critical step in presenting the overall condition of the building. In building reconstruction, most works are based on point clouds because of their enhanced availability. In recent years, neural radiance fields (NeRF) have become a common function for implementing novel view synthesis. Compared to other traditional 3D graphic methods, NeRF-based models have a solid ability to produce photorealistic images with rich details that point clouds based methods cannot offer. As a result, we decided to investigate the performance of this technique in architectural scenes and look for ways to improve it for more significant scenes.This thesis explores the ability to reconstruct large-field scenes with NeRF-based models. NeRF introduced a fully-connected network to predict the volume density and view-dependent emitted radiance at the special location, which will be projected into an image through classic volume rendering techniques. Due to the limitation of near-field ambiguity and parameterization of unbounded scenes, the original NeRF does not perform well on 360° input view, especially when the inputs are sparse. An inverted sphere parameterization that facilitates free view synthesis is introduced to address this limitation so that the foreground and background views can be trained separately. Besides that, we also compare the performance of tracing different light geometries, ray and cone, respectively. Meanwhile, to generate the reconstructed scene precisely, raw RGB images should be pre-processed to estimate the corresponding camera parameters. Finally, customized camera paths should be prepared to generate the final rendered video.According to our experiments, training foreground and background separately is a promising method to solve practical large-scale scene reconstruction problems. A complete wrap-around view of the target building can be obtained using adjusted camera path parameters. Furthermore, introducing conical frustum casting into the original model also provides an alternative method to implement reconstruction. We named this method mip-NeRF++, which can contribute to the final results to some extent.Electrical Engineerin

Effect of graph generation on slope stability analysis based on graph theory

Limit equilibrium method (LEM) and strength reduction method (SRM) are the most widely used methods for slope stability analysis. However, it can be noted that they both have some limitations in practical application. In the LEM, the constitutive model cannot be considered and many assumptions are needed between slices of soil/rock. The SRM requires iterative calculations and does not give the slip surface directly. A method for slope stability analysis based on the graph theory is recently developed to directly calculate the minimum safety factor and potential critical slip surface according to the stress results of numerical simulation. The method is based on current stress state and can overcome the disadvantages mentioned above in the two traditional methods. The influences of edge generation and mesh geometry on the position of slip surface and the safety factor of slope are studied, in which a new method for edge generation is proposed, and reasonable mesh size is suggested. The results of benchmark examples and a rock slope show good accuracy and efficiency of the presented method

IGCP 632, The Jurassic–Cretaceous transition in North Eastern China (westernLiaoning and Inner Mongolia): An IGCP meeting and field excursion on the continentalJurassic

Exposures of strata spanning the Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary occur within several basins in western Liaoning and adjacent Inner Mongolia. These continental successions host world-renowned plant and animal fossils including feathered dinosaurs and the oldest flowering plant, Archaeofructus.Supported by:International Geoscience of Program ofUNESCO-IUGS (IGCP)International Subcommission on Jurassic Stratigraphy (ISJS)National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC)Northeastern UniversityDepartment of Education of Liaoning ProvinceDepartment of Land and Resources of Liaoning ProvinceBureau of Fossil Protection and Administration of LiaoningLiaoning Association for Science and TechnologyPaleontological Museum of LiaoningGeological Society of LiaoningBenxi Branch of the Geological Museum of ChinaChina National Committee of StratigraphyGeneral Office of National Paleontological Experts CommitteeChina Fossil Preservation Foundation (CFPF)Nanjing Institute of Geology &amp; Palaeontology, CASInstitute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, CASNanjing UniversityPalaeontological Society of China</p

Study and Design of Distributed Badminton Agility Training and Test System

In order to improve the agility of college students, this paper designs a distributed agility training system. The system includes an upper computer and nine lower computers, in which the lower computer realizes the functions of data acquisition and communication with the upper computer and calculates the reaction time. The Android-based system software was installed in the upper computer to complete the functions of network connection, setting training times and showing the exercise time. In order to test the effectiveness of the equipment, nine university students were invited to complete agility training over 8 weeks with the help of agility training equipment in preparatory, enhancement and special stages. A t-test (Student’s t test) was conducted on the test results at different positions on the front and middle and back areas of the court before and after the training. The results show that the agility of the experimental objects was significantly improved after training, from the midpoint to any point at the front, middle and back court (p < 0.01). This shows that using equipment designed to develop agility for long-term training can promote the sensitive quality in badminton learners